Domestic water-still.



PATBNTED DBO. 5, 1905.

3... 2.. .uv ,r

lll/l V R. P. BARNSTEADl DOMESTIC WATER STILL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17,1905.

UNTTD PATENT cerros.

ROBERT P. BARNSTEAD," OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' DOMESTIC wzirrsR-'s'TILL i To all whom it may concern: i

. Be it known that I, ROBERT P. BARNSTEAD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDomestic Water- Stills, of which the following isa full, clear, andexact description.

The object of this invention is the construc- IO tion of an improveddevice whereby a steady supply of distilled water can be produced foruse in houses, hospitals, and other places where comparatively smallquantities only are desired. v

The drawing forming part of this specification is a central' verticalsection of the still embodying my improvements. y

In said drawing, 1 designates the evaporating tank or boiler; 2, thegas-burner receiving 2o vits supply of gas from a pipev3; 4, the jacketsurrounding and supporting the same; 5, the

ringsuppo'rting said boiler and being itself,

supported by said jacket, and 7 the cover closing said boiler, 6 beingthe fastening devices for locking it steam-tight upon the Risingcentrally from said cover isboiler.l the 4tube 8, closed at itsextremity, but formed with several lateral openings 9 just below saidextremity; Rigid with both said cover andtube is the rather fiat conel0, having a flange 14, within which is seated the lower edge ofthecylinder 21. Secured water-tight to said` edge'is a conical orellipsoidal shell v20, from the vertex of which rises a tube 22,

K screw-threaded at its upper end, and thereby enabled through itscoaction with` the nut 23 to secure the`cover 2 4 in place upon saidcyljinder. From a point Vnear the juncture of said tube 22 and shell 2Oa pipe 2 7 passes out 40 through the side of said shell, descending intothev open upper end of the cup 30, acock y29 being provided for closingsaid pipe when desired. Within said cup,"but opening down .through itsbottom, is the overiiow-pipe 32 terminally closed@ at its upper end',but pro.

From any desired source, as the pipe 26, al

suitable supply of water is delivered to the space within the cylinder21 exterior to the shell 20, maintaining a constant level by hav- 5 55ingl its overflow escape through the tube 27.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application lerlFebruaI-y 17,1905.Serial No. 245,993.

A tubular connection 31,

l Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

vThe interior of the shell 20 being kept cool 'by such water-supplyforms `a condensing' chamber. for the steam rising from the boiler i 1and issuing therefrom through the openings '9.r The steam thus condensedforms water,l which finds its way down into the cone 10 andl v lills thesame up to the level of theoutlet 13,

through which it escapes and is caught in anyv suitable receptacleprovided therefor, such distillate v'being the valuable product forywhich the device is designed. Within said cone is deposited a suitablequantity of carbon or other substances, by means of which the con!densed water is rendered potable by its pas-y sage through the same. 'Ioprevent such substances fromchoking upthe outlet 13, I provide a screen12, which is preferably located I at the lower end of the hood 11,inclosing said outlet. As shown, the lower end of said hood is quiteclose to the lowest point of the cone 10, while its upper end is nearthe liange 14 `f thereof and is open.. The purpose in locating said hoodas shown is to force the water to pass'to-the very bottom of the conebefore it can escape to the outlet, and consequently to be subjected tothe action of the largest possible quantity of the substance aforesaid.Byhaving the upper end of said hood open the siphonage is preventedwhich would other-A wise occur. Were the water siphoned out, a muchsmaller quantity thereof could be ac'f cumulated in the cone than is nowpossible,

andr hence there `would be less time for the Y water to be under theaction of the said substances.- The inner end of the tube 2.7 beinglocated close'above that part of the shell or condenser 20 whichreceivesthe greatest heat from the condensing steam, it is the warmest -of thewater in the cylinder which overiiows through said tube and descendsinto the cup 30', from .which it passes by the way of the tubularconnection 31 to the boiler 1. In case more water enters said cylinderfrom the pipe 26 and thence in the above-described manner descendstosaid boilerl more rapidly than can be evaporated in the latter theexcess overflows throughl the openings 33 and pipe 32. In this manner asteady supply of perfectly pure and palatable water is provided, theapparatus. maintaining its'operation without attention. r

Occasionally and the less frequentlyV in proportion to the purity ofthewaterfsupply the apparatus is taken apart for cleansing purposes. To dothis, the faucet 40 is first opened IOO VIo

to drain out the water in vthe cylinder 21. Then the nut 23 is unscrewedand the cover 24 removed, thereby giving access to the interior of thecylinder. After this said cylinder is removed from within the confiningflange of the cone 10 and then the locking devices 6 swung to one sideto enable the cover 7 and also the attached cone 10 to be removed. Thispermits of said cone being cleaned and a fresh supply of carbon or otherwater-treating substances introduced and also enables the boiler 1 to bewiped out. This is one reason why I prefer to form said boiler with ahemispherical bottom, as if it were flat the sharp corners therebyformed would be very difficult to clean out.

To retain the carbon in place in the cone 10, I provide the screen 16,suitably apertured to slip down over the tube 8, and so rest upon thecarbon and hold it down.

Another important point is to prevent the moisture which condenses uponthe shell or condenser-dome 20 from flowing down said surface to theperiphery of the cone 10 and thence along the surface of the latter tothe lowest point in the cone, thus coming in contact with only the underlayer of the carbon and being very incompletely treated. To do this, Iform upon said inner surface of the dome 2O several annular flanges 20,so arranged as to divert all such moisture from said surface and causeit instead to drip directly downward from the edges of said flanges orrings to the carbon below, thus causing the water of condensation topercolate through the entire thickness of carbon and be fully treatedthereby. It will be evident that by thus locating the carbon within thecondensation-chamber, where the condensed moisture will reach the samealmost instantly, and while still but a degree or two below theboiling-point in temperature, the water will thus receive the bestpossible eect from the carbon, for it is found that the hotter the waterwhen treated the better will be the results-- the more palatable thewater will be. Previous to this invention a water-treating substance hasbeen employed in an exterior-receptacle to which the water is conductedafter being distilled; but it is very difficult to produce good resultseven when an extra hot fire is kept up in order to have the water as hotas possible when delivered to the potable attachment. With myarrangement only enough heat is maintained to evaporate the water, andyet the condensed moisture is fed thereto with both such moisture andthe earbon at the highest temperature capable of producing good results.

I have previously described this apparatus 4as receiving a steady supplyof water through the pipe 26. For places where such supply cannot be hadthe water is poured into the cylindei1V 21 up to the level of the dottedline shown, the water being introduced either through the aperture leftfor the pipe 26 oiafter' the temporary removal of the' cover 21. Thenthe cock 29 is turned to shut oif the flow through the tube 27 and thestill set in operation. After continuing until a considerable amount ofthe water has been evaporated from the boiler 1 and the contents of thecylinder 21 are quite hot the cock 29 is opened and said contentspermitted to flow down to the cup 30 and thence to the boiler. Then saidcock is closed, the cylinder 21 again filled up, and the operationcontinued as before.

What Iclaim as my invention, and for which I desire Letters Patent, isas follows:

1. The combination with a boiler having a removable cover, of acentrally-depressed receptacle located upon and fixed to said cover, asteam-channel through said cover to the upper part of said receptacle,means for surrounding said receptacle with water and eonverting it intoa condenser, an outlet from said receptacle, and a water-treatingsubstance located in the lower part of said receptacle.

2. The combination with a boiler and its cover, of a centrally-depressedreceptacle located upon and fixed to said cover, a steamchannel throughsaid cover to the upper part of said receptacle, means for surroundingsaid receptacle with water and converting it into a condenser, an outletfrom said receptacle issuing from a substantial distance above thelowest point of the latter, a hood over said outlet extending above andbelow it and open at each end, and a water-treating substance fillingsaid receptacle to a height less than the upper end of said hood.

8. The combination with a boiler and its cover, of an inverted conefixed at its vertex to said cover, a tubular channel rising through saidcover and apex, a hood disposed from the apex to the periphery of saidcone and open at each end, a screen covering the lower end of said hood,an outlet from said cone from a point midway within said hood, and awatertreating substance filling said cone.

4. The combination with a boiler, a cover therefor and locking devicesfor the same, an inverted cone fixed at its vertex to said cover andhaving an upwardly-rising flange at its periphery, a steam-channelthrough said cover and apex, a cylinder fitting at its lower edge withinsaid flange, a dome-shaped shell forining the bottom of said cylinder, atube rising rigidly from the apex of said bottom and threaded at itsupper end, a cover fitted to the top of said cylinder and constructed tobe penetrated by said tube, a nut turning on said threaded end andclamping the last-named cover in place, means for lsupplying waterthrough this cover, an overiiow-tube through said cylinder, means forconveying more or less of such overflow to said boiler, and an outletfor said cone.

5. In a still, the combination with an evapo- IIS rator, of acondensing-chamber having a dome- 1 30 shapedI ceiling 'provided' withone 'r more di- In testimony that I lclaim the foregoing inverting-ringsfixed thereto,v a Water-treating Venton I have hereunto set my hand this11th substance at the bottom of said condenser, and day of February,1905.

an outlet through said bottom; said rings be- ROBERT P. BARNSTEAD. ingdisposed to cause the moisture condensing Witnesses:

upon the said ceiling `to drip upon' said subl FRED G. TILTON,

stance. v A. B.v UPHAM.

